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    Cobweb Bride
    Cobweb Bride
    Cobweb Bride
    Ebook408 pages8 hours

    Cobweb Bride

    By Vera Nazarian

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Many are called...

    She alone can save the world and become Death's bride.

    COBWEB BRIDE (Cobweb Bride Trilogy, Book One) is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death's ultimatum to the world.

    What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?

    In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill....

    Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...

    While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father... Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living...

    Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars...

    And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.

    As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North...

    And everyone is trying to stop her.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNorilana Books
    Release dateMar 8, 2013
    ISBN9781607621140
    Cobweb Bride
    Author

    Vera Nazarian

    VERA NAZARIAN is a two-time Nebula Award Finalist, 2018 Dragon Award Finalist, award-winning artist, a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and a writer with a penchant for moral fables and stories of intense wonder, true love, and intricacy.She immigrated to the USA from the former USSR as a kid, sold her first story at the age of 17, and since then has published numerous works in anthologies and magazines, and has seen her fiction translated into eight languages.She is the author of critically acclaimed novels DREAMS OF THE COMPASS ROSE and LORDS OF RAINBOW, the outrageous parodies MANSFIELD PARK AND MUMMIES and NORTHANGER ABBEY AND ANGELS AND DRAGONS, and most recently, PRIDE AND PLATYPUS: MR. DARCY'S DREADFUL SECRET in her humorous and surprisingly romantic Supernatural Jane Austen Series, as well as the Renaissance epic fantasy COBWEB BRIDE Trilogy.Her bestselling and award-winning series THE ATLANTIS GRAIL is now a cross-genre phenomenon -- a high-octane YA / teen dystopian apocalyptic science fiction adventure, romance, and historical mystery thriller -- has been optioned for film, and is in development as a major motion picture franchise or TV series.After many years in Los Angeles, Vera lives in a small town in Vermont, and uses her Armenian sense of humor and her Russian sense of suffering to bake conflicted pirozhki and make art.Her official author website is http://www.veranazarian.comTo be notified when new books come out, subscribe to the Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/hKaeo

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    Reviews for Cobweb Bride

    3.5/5

    87 ratings25 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Romance, Myth, MG. Based on the Persephone/ Death of legend. Death refuses to take any lives until his bride is found for him. Village girl Percy cannot bear to watch her grandmother suffer in the near-death that this means. She makes the journey to Deaths house alongside other potential brides but not everyone wants his bride to get to him. I really enjoyed this book, well-plotted and engaging. Good+.
    • 3/5
      What a totally crazy Tale of surrealist propostions. Somewhere in 17th century ancient times. A place where Knights and Kings ruled until Death stopped death until he got his Cobweb Bride. Amazing finish will look out fot Cobweb Empire B2
    • 4/5
      Death has stopped visiting those whose time is up. No one and nothing will die until Death finds his Cobweb Bride. But who or what is a Cobweb Bride?There are multiple points of view in the story, however, the narrative comes back to Persephone, nickname Percy.The characters are all authentic with realistic goals for their situations. Dialogue helps to define characters and their development.A detailed, vivid narrative helps drive the story and place the action.Reality and unreality blend together throughout various settings, characters, and occurrences with a natural rhythm.Overall, a fun read!
    • 3/5
      I was intrigued by the premise of Death going on strike and so was happy to receive and early copy of this book in exchange for a review. He will remain on strike until his "cobweb bride" is sent to him. The book begins when the people of the land realize that no one is dying and the author focuses on how this affects a handful of people. There's Percy, the requisite awkward young peasant girl, unwanted by her family, who sets out on a quest to save her grandmother not from death but from the half-life that is the result of Death's strike. On a similar quest to Percy, is a princess of the land who when freed from her sickly body becomes more alive than she's ever been. And in their way, a duke who is mortally wounded in battle just after the strike and has no intention of relinquishing his second life. Each character's story is brought to life by those that surround them.I found the language and feel of the book immersive. The themes and ideas explore are thought-provoking and I look forward to the next book (where hopefully the plot speeds up). As one reviewer has mentioned, there were a few formatting, editing issues that hopefully will be dealt with before publication.
    • 5/5
      Delightful! This book has great elements of fantasy, an underdog heroine, a vast journey, evil antagonists and Death. The author did a splendid job of all the characters and their personalities. Humor abounds. The authors treatment of death is beautiful. Unique. I cannot WAIT for the next book! Thank you!
    • 3/5
      I was lucky enough to have received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is an interesting story that takes the concept of Death and looks at what might happen to the world in Death stopped collecting the dead.There are some creative and unique characters that move throughout the story, and some few are not what they seem at first blush, yet they remain relate-able enough that they take on a life of their own. Even those characters that go bad and appear to be monsters clearly articulate the cause of their behavior, which is rather refreshing.Death stops taking the dead & dying and refuses to accept anymore until his Cobweb Bride is restored to him. Once the rulers of the empire learn of this tragedy and the dire future ahead for all they issue a decree across all realms. From all the surrounding kingdoms each family with a daughter(s) must send at least one to find Death's palace in the North forest in order to present themselves to him to see if they are the one he wants.If someone dies they continue to move and behave as though they had not died. This also means that any food not killed/prepared before Death went on strike is inedible, as it will still be alive (even diced into tiny pieces). This goes for animals as well as plants.Percy has always been seen as the slow, plodding, middle child in her family. As such she is also the family 'workhorse' since her two sisters are too beautiful or vivacious to do any real work and risk their chances for a good match/marriage. Percy's paternal grandmother is slowly dying in the corner if the cabin, and is on the very cusp of breathing one of her last tortured, gurgling breaths when Death goes on strike. This leaves the family going slightly mad as day in and day out they are forced to listen to the old woman's death rattle in her chest with each agonizing breath, particularly as it is a bitterly cold winter, thus effectively keeping them virtual prisoners in their small cabin.Once the proclamation from the palace is read in the town square word spreads like wildfire about each family having to send at least one eligible daughter to find Death's castle and see if she is the Cobweb Bride he spoke of. When Percy's mother Niobea hears this proclamation she breaks down, wailing about having to lose a daughter. After some family drama Percy announces that she will be the one from her family to go, knowing in her heart that she will be the least missed.But there is much more to Percy than meets the eye, or even that she will cop to. She plays her role while it suits her needs. And she is not the only character to grow over the course of the book. There are several interesting players, each with their own agenda - even if that agenda gets changed along the way.This book is an easy read and entertaining the entire way through. The end leaves you with just enough information to want the next book in your hand to keep going in the story without any interruptions. Too bad the next book is not yet out. . . Something to look forward to!
    • 3/5
      First, to comply with the "Terms & Conditions", I hereby disclose in this, my review, that I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to read this early.

      For the record, this is loosely based off of one of my favorite Greek myths (hence me being super excited to have won it). That in and of its self made me incredibly excited to read this. I love how Persephone [Percy] is portrayed, not physically per say, but her actual character traits. As much as this is a twist on a Greek myth, it also has slight overtones of a coming of age type story. Percy really grows into herself and really gets a backbone by the end of it, which I love. I actually like how Percy is physically portrayed as well, come to think of it. I know she's supposed to be beautiful (historically/mythologically speaking) but I think her plain features add to her character and make her much more relatable than if she were drop dead gorgeous like her sister. It also makes the whole thing more plausible, somehow. I can't exactly tell you what I mean by that because, to be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure. If you read it though, you'll understand.

      On another, less enjoyable note, this is the most annoying book I've ever enjoyed. I understand the whole idea is to find Death his Cobweb Bride and that it is the title of the book however, that term is used way too many times in this book. I don't think I've ever read a book where the title was "dropped", in a manner of speaking, so many times. It's like in a movie, where you're just waiting for them to say the name of the movie somewhere in the dialogue because you just KNOW it's going to be one of those movies, except that instead of sprinkling it in here and there or hiding it completely so you almost don't even notice it, it just keeps getting thrown at you again and again and AGAIN. We get it. Death is looking for his Cobweb Bride, and no one can die until she comes to him. It almost made it seem like she didn't know how to stretch the story out enough to make it one book, let alone three. Also, to be completely frank, I have no idea how they're going to make this into a three book series. It just doesn't seem possible. It seems to me, like this whole set of stories could have been put into one book... two at the absolute MOST.

      On a lighter note, given the opportunity, I would definitely read the next book in the series. I look forward to Cobweb Empire's release and I would be quick to recommend this to someone in the future, should the opportunity arise.
    • 3/5
      Another Read It Now snagged from Netgalley. A beautifully written fairytale.

      Though I must admit, at a few points, I nearly gave up with it. While on the one hand the language the story was written in was beautiful, vivid and poetic, the pace of the plot was very very slow. Meandering and dream like and almost nightmare like at some stages.

      There was some incredible imagery. Particularly when the Death's curse started happening with the armies fighting a war and the townspeople trying to slaughter their pigs for food was rather alarming and disturbing.

      A good mix of characters both good guys, some irritating ones and detestable villains. And a very likeable heroine.

      I enjoyed the story, and there were times where I thought I knew exactly where the plot was going, but a good twist at the end changed the direction. So I'm glad I stuck with it. Even though it became kind of very long winded. It ended at a point where you sort of have to know what happens next.
    • 3/5
      Unfortunately I didn't like this book much. I found it quite horrific over the notion of death stopping. The last series of Torchwood used a very similar plot line so I have had time to think about the implications of this and personally I find it more terrifying than any slasher movie. So although I liked the character of Percy and certainly didn't see the final twist coming, I won't be reading the rest of the series.
    • 5/5
      A unique mythos, engaging and interesting characters, and an adventure full of mystery. Wonderful!
    • 3/5
      "Cobweb Bride" by Vera Nazarian The first book in a fantasy trilogy, "Cobweb Bride" caught my eye by its sales description more than its title. The idea of a young woman going to be the bride of death himself in order to save people caught in a ghastly immortality was intriguing. Unfortunately, the book itself was a bit of a disappointment. "Cobweb Bride" begins with several eerie scenes in which Death refuses to take the souls of the dying, leaving them in a painful netherworld in which they are missing limbs, drained of blood, or continuously drawing their final, rasping breath. Death informs the world that he will only begin taking the dead when his bride comes to him in his forest keep. The author's particular choice of heroine/s for the story was not a surprise, but it was a pleasant change from usual fairy tale cliches. The characters were fleshed-out, and the writing was often beautifully descriptive. However, that same writing often descended from the descriptive and detailed into the unnecessary. The story was sometimes lost for the poetry of it all, which I personally found distracting. I don't usually skim through books as a matter of principle, but I started to do just that several times, only realizing what I had done several paragraphs or pages later. It is a shame that a work with so much potential was not able to captivate more than it did. My overall opinion of "Cobweb Bride" is not unfavorable, but I have no plans to continue reading the series.
    • 4/5
      Enchanting take on the Persephone myth with a bit of Snow Maiden legend thrown in. bit slow to start--not a bad thing as the author was setting up the story and introducing the main characters. Death has halted the death of all creatures, animal, human, and vegetable, until he receives his Cobweb Bride. Set in a late medieval/Renaissance world with a bit of 18th century, there are three subplots: presentation to Death of girls led by Persephone, the middle daughter of a peasant family; a Crown Princess; that of the Infanta Claere, now hovering between life and complete death, assassinated by Marquis Vlau, who hates her family for perceived wrongs; and that of a Black Knight, Beltain, on orders of his father a Duke, also in this twilight state, is charged with stopping any contenders for Death's hand. The father wishes to preserve this status quo.Gorgeous writing. Character are suitably heroic or villainous. Flashes of gentle humor here and there. I wish to continue with the other books in the trilogy, but to me it would have been nice if the author could have condensed this whole Cobweb Bride trilogy into one standalone book.
    • 4/5
      It took me a while before I was truly captivated, but though the story was disturbing in a sense, it was also beautiful and complex. I really liked the characters, Percy in particular, and enjoyed seeing their growth. Yes, the novel has an unusual premise, but is definitely worth a read.
    • 1/5
      Please stop suggesting me bad romance novels when I look up conservatism or anything
    • 5/5
      I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. I really enjoyed this beautifully written and creative historical fantasy. It is the first of a trilogy, so not everything is resolved in this book. The second book will be called The Cobweb Empire.Death has decided to stop doing his job until the humans find him his Cobweb Bride. Soldiers are dealt mortal wounds in battle...but don't die. Animals slaughtered for food never actually die and nothing living (plants or animals) will cook properly. People are walking around with mortal wounds and illness, suffering endlessly. Then the ruler of the lands issues a degree; all women of marriageable age shall journey to Death’s Keep to determine whether or not they are the Cobweb Bride.Through this book we follow the stories of multiple characters. The first is Percy, a peasant girl who can see Death and has decided to journey to his keep to see if she is the Cobweb Bride. The second is the Infanta, daughter of the Emperor, who was assassinated but of course did not quite die...she is also determined to journey to Death's Keep. The third is Beltane, the son of Duke Hoarfrost. Duke Hoarfrost was killed in battle and is determined to make sure Death never resumes his duties, as such he sends Beltane to prevent any of the girls from getting to Death's Keep.The writing and imagery are very beautiful. I enjoyed the descriptions and felt like they really made the story come alive. The book was easy to read, it is a bit wordy but I enjoyed the extra description. This is supposed to be a retelling of the Persephone myth, sort of. You can tell that the Myth of Persephone definitely influences the story.Having the different POVs worked really well for this book, the story flowed well and it was interesting to see things from multiple perspectives. All of the characters were very engaging. Percy is an interesting characters because of her practicalness and the fact that she can see Death. The Infanta is intriguing because of her incredible sickness before death and her stoicness after death. Beltane was the weakest character of the bunch. He had a lot of trouble standing up to his father, Duke Hoarfrost, as a result he does some awful things. He comes off as weak, despite being a powerful knight. He did start to change towards the end of the story though, so I am eager to see what happens with his character in future books.The premise was very creative and I enjoyed the idea of Death boycotting his job. The idea of this does get a bit campy at times. For example when all the nobles figure out their meat can’t be cooked and try to eat it anyway...this was pretty comical. There are some parts that made me laugh a bit with the silliness of it all.I actually wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It was very engaging and I was dying to know what would happen when the girls all got to Death’s Keep.Overall an excellent read. The premise is creative, the characters are engaging, and the descriptions are beautiful. The book does a get a bit wordy at times and there are a lot of character names thrown at you. There is an index of characters in the back of the book to help you deal with this. I just found the story incredibly intriguing and I can’t wait to see what will happen in the second book. Recommended to fantasy lovers.
    • 4/5
      Originally posted on Tales to Tide You OverThis novel is the first in an epic series, but unlike most epics, it is not about knights in shining armor (though there are knights), or kings, queens, and nobility (though those are present as well) but rather it is the tale of an overlooked, homely peasant girl who finds her place in the bigger scheme of things.The Cobweb Bride starts, like many of the great tales, with an Event (capital E required). The beginning may feel slow to those of us used to the modern format of jumping into the story and struggling to keep up, and I’ll admit to having trouble with the broad cast introduced as an aspect of the Event at first. However, every person you meet in the beginning has an important role to play, no matter how small. It might take a bit for the lines that link each piece to become clear, much like how a spider builds a web one thread at a time, but once enough of the structure is visible, it’s too late. You’re caught in the web of this story.The Event is simple: Death informs one group he will no longer collect souls until his cobweb bride is brought to him. And all dying, no matter how grievous the injury or illness, ends.Vera Nazarian offers a complex, deep look at how people respond to both death and duty. She gets into the true nature of humanity in all its grace and flaws by focusing on the little events that come to pass because of the Event.Cobweb Bride is the story of Percy (full name Persephone) and how she discovers her own value despite being raised by a mother who had married down and two sisters who are all that is beautiful. Hers is the main thread, and Percy the main character, but running in parallel are tales of loyalty, trust, greed, obsession, hope, and hatred to name a few, each given a face and a reason.Some books are fun reads but nothing more.Cobweb Bride might start in a style unfamiliar to most, but once it catches hold, you’re thrown into a kaleidoscope of people and events, some frozen for a twist of the barrel so you can appreciate the pageantry and some savored in all their brilliant colors and amazing patterns.Why yes, this story throws me into metaphors. It’s that kind of tale, with that level of complexity. At the same time, the actual writing is most times clean and clear, with occasional forays into heavier description than I prefer which is not to say it’s poorly written, and there’s no confusion as to what is happening or why.Cobweb Bride is a novel full of questions and answers, full of characters wanting to understand, wanting to know. This is not a story in which people are pushed along by events (little e) against their will, though there’s an aspect of that. It is a story where even in the face of no options, choices are found and decisions made.A touch of Russian folklore, an opening style that isn’t even listed in the Point of View catalog, and a huge cast of characters (which narrows down past the opening to a smaller number of key characters). These are the elements that make Cobweb Bride different than most epic fantasy I’ve read, and these, along with characters who each have a compelling reason for the actions they take, are what make Cobweb Bride such a good read. And if you’re worried about predictability, don’t be. While nothing felt like it came out of nowhere once it had happened, there were several times where I’d predicted a path based on my understanding of events and the traditions of the format only to have the story twist aside at the end with something even more compelling and no less true to what came before.I read Cobweb Bride as a NetGalley ARC in return for an honest review, which means it hadn’t gone through final edits. There were some typos and like that I hope are fixed in the final version, but even that did not disrupt my enjoyment of this title, which is saying something because those things bug me.Cobweb Bride is not the style of writing found most commonly in modern novels, but its style suits the nature of the story, and works together with wonderful characters to draw me in.
    • 4/5
      Book Info: Genre: Pseudo-historical FantasyReading Level: AdultRecommended for: Those who enjoy the journey, the process rather than actionBook Available: July 15 in Paperback and Hardcover editions (Kindle format has been available since June 22)Trigger Warnings: violence, fighting, murder, assassination, treacheryMy Thoughts: The story is couched in somewhat flowery language, matching the pseudo historical, Renaissance setting. This is something that has always impressed me about Vera Nazarian. Her books cover a variety of times and places, from her parodies of Jane Eyre to her far-future science fiction, to her complex and beautiful world-building in her fables, and she changes her style and language to match accordingly. In this instance, she has switched styles into a beautifully lyrical and almost poetic style, and it works beautifully.The food situation seems to me to be a bit of a logic fail. I can't quite grasp how one cannot cook anything; after all, isn't lobster thrown in the pot live traditionally? And if absolutely nothing dies, it would do truly disturbing things to hair and skin and fingernails, among other things. How about germs and viruses? How about the small, microscopic creatures in the air? I can't be the only person to whom this doesn't make sense. It reminded me of her far-future story in which humans have evolved to be more efficient on a desert planet by losing all their hair... including their eyelashes. That still doesn't make sense to me, although the author insists it is based upon scientific principles. I guess, as Joss Whedon would say, it's phlebotinum.Much of this story is very profound, especially some of the conversations with Death. I found this of particular interest.“Since the dawn of existence, you mortals have feared dying, feared the unknown and the pain of it, and yet, pain is a part of life, not death. And I—I am the first moment after pain ceases,” he [Death] pronounced. “It is life that fights and struggles and rages; life, that tears at you in its last agonizing throes to hold on, even if but for one futile instant longer... Whereas I, I come softly when it is all done. Pain and death are an ordered sequence, not a parallel pair. So easy to confuse the correlations, not realizing that one does not bring the other.”This is slated to be a trilogy. Book two is to be called Cobweb Empire and I, for one, definitely plan to read it. This book will not be for everyone. There is little action, few “events”; it is, instead, about the journey, and about the thoughts and identities of some of those who are sharing that journey. I do not know what the future will hold for those involved in this particular journey, but if you enjoy a story that isn't all flash and bang and sword fights, this book might appeal to you.Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I later noticed it was available on NetGalley and accepted that to provide another place to post my review. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: Many are called... She alone can save the world and become Death's bride.Cobweb Bride is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death's ultimatum to the world. What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill....Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father ... Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living...Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars...And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North... And everyone is trying to stop her.
    • 4/5
      Cobweb Bride is an enthralling story reminiscent of a dark fairytale. Set in 17th century Europe, Death has provided the world with an ultimatum: until his Cobweb Bride is found, no one will die. This promise of eternal life sounds appealing at first, but Death’s proclamation is not without its share of horror — soldiers mutilated on the battlefield bleed out yet do not die; animals prepared for slaughter who won’t be slain; people waiting on their deathbed to take their last breath, which just won’t come. Across the land, inhabitants are trapped in this perverse imitation of “life,” and while many wish to restore the balance between life and death, there are others who are determined to remain in the realm of the living regardless of the cost.The first third of the story is very slow paced, allowing for the development of multiple main characters and their associated story lines: Percy, the unappreciated daughter who embarks on a quest to become the Cobweb Bride, finding herself and her purpose along the way; the murdered princess who truly becomes alive after her death; and the dead duke’s son whose loyalty is tested when he is charged with capturing the aspiring Cobweb Brides. As these seemingly unrelated story lines intersect, the characters find themselves inextricably bound together by the same purpose: to return death to the world.Nazarian’s writing is evocative, and beautiful. The descriptions were so detailed and lush that I found myself hanging on to every word, as opposed to skimming through the paragraphs of description in favour of the action like I do with Lord of the Rings. When the writing isn’t creating stunningly vivid images in the reader’s mind, it raises excellent points about immortality, life, death and suffering.“It is life that fights and struggles and rages; life, that tears at you in its last agonizing throes to hold on, even if but for one futile instant longer… Whereas I, I come softly when it is all done. Pain and death are an ordered sequence, not a parallel pair. So easy to confuse the correlations, not realizing that one does not bring the other.”Overall, Cobweb Bride is a brilliant start to a new fantasy series. Nazarian’s vivid, lush writing makes for an enjoyable read, even in the slowest portions of the book.I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Would it be wonderful to never die?Well, not when everybody and everything else shares the same fate, so it’s impossible to enjoy a good pot roast.Death has descended on this semi-fictional European empire. He has come in person to deliver a message: he will be taking no more souls, no one will die, until he is given his Cobweb Bride.Percy (Persephone) is a completely plain peasant girl with some hidden spunk (and mysterious talent), who wishes to ease the death rattle of her grandmother; the royal Infanta, Claere, is assassinated on her 16th birthday and seeks a purpose in her death that she never found in life; Beltain is the son of Duke Hoarfrost, a duke who feels cheated by Death since he was killed by a dead man and now clings to his unnatural animated state of being; add to this mix various potential-Brides each with their own cute or obnoxious character, some minor nobles, and a mysterious witch who makes a few brief appearances to offer assistance. Both gruesome and lovely, the Cobweb Bride is a mixture of horror, romance, political intrigue, and some pretty decent humor. I laughed aloud several times, wrinkled my nose in disgust several times more, and groaned when I realized the sequel isn’t yet available.I found each character believable and unique. When Percy meets Death, she remarks on his hair, and asks questions. The plot was well thought-out and interesting, though we don’t get much of the politics in this book (I suspect more in the next one?), and it almost feels like a lot of set-up (which is fine). I read an advanced-readers copy, so it lacked some editing and a map to reference. I didn’t know what to expect from the Cobweb Bride, but I enjoyed it.(Read on a Kindle. Formatting was good except a bit strange at the start of chapters.)
    • 5/5
      Digital copy received from the author. Death has stopped to collect the souls of the dying. He is searching for his Cobweb Bride and until She is found Death will no longer take souls into his Kingdom, granting life immortality. The story follows plain Percy, the sickly Infanta Claire, Knights and peasant girls who in various ways and wishes seeks out Death.The story takes place in a parallel version of Renaissance Europe, in a kingdom made up by the author that borders to France and Spain and the like in that geographical area. I liked the book. I found it very fascinating, the language beautiful and mysterious and mythological. Details and humans lovely written, with real human emotions and greyness. The emotions felt true and the various reaction to the stop of death also. Percy specially I felt connected with - a quiet yet strong girl, often ignored but finding her strength and purpose along the journey. A good role model for younger people, I would think. Grial was also an interesting character and I had hoped to learn more about her, she feels like an important part in the story. I also liked the various relationships forming between the characters, their slow, realistic build and ambivalent feelings and uncertainty. It all felt real, which I like very much, instead of soppy romance and rushed general relationships just because. The relationships of different kinds built here felt important to the story itself, to guide it along. The story makes interesting points - is immortality as good as we think? Is death truly ghastly and horrible instead of beautiful and a reward for having lived? What some of the characters thought good with immortality proved perhaps to be so and immortality gave side effects that one might not have though about when wishing never to die. I really liked the style that the story was written in and the character development, and I can't wait to find out what happens in the sequel. I would recommend it for people liking strong female characters, low, realistic fantasy/magical realism. 4½ points rounded up to a 5.
    • 4/5
      The premise of Cobweb Bride is simple: one day Death announces that until his cobweb bride is delivered to him, all death will cease. And cease it does – people continue to die in that their hearts will stop beating and their limbs will stiffen, but their souls and consciousnesses will not move on. They are trapped without relief in their dead bodies. Neither the ill nor the mortally wounded are able to pass on, but must remain trapped until death begins again.Cobweb Bride is epic in scope, with a wide number of characters with differing positions in life and responses to the crisis. However, the clear protagonist is Percy (short for Persephone), an unwanted village girl who sets out along with a multitude of other girls to find Death and present herself as a possible cobweb bride.I’ll admit, I was hesitant going in. I worried that it would be too much of a romance, but as I read, my fears faded away. Cobweb Bride is clearly an epic or historical fantasy and a good one at that. The writing was simply gorgeous. Nazarian’s lyrical words carried me away to a land of bitter cold, dark forests, and opulent palaces.All of the characters connected with me. Percy was determined and perspicacious, able to see things that none of the other characters could. Throughout the book, she was brave and generous. In short, she was a genuinely likable protagonist.However, Percy’s story is just one of many. There’s the three spoiled court nobles who make their way North to Death’s domain, the king-in-waiting whose mother is stuck on the very edge of death, two battling armies who discover that they are unable to die, a son still devotedly serving his undead father, and Claere, heir to the empire who’s assassinated at her birthday party. Claere was favorite character. Before her death, she was sickly and weak, but afterwards she realized that she had nothing to fear. I will note that some people may find her romance plot troubling, but I didn’t have a problem with it.I found this an excellent book and am planning on reading the next in the trilogy. I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for good female characters, beautiful writing or just an enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      *I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of Fiction Addiction Book tours*Cobweb Bride, the first in a new trilogy, is a book unlike anything I’ve read in a long while. This book is nothing less than a seriously interesting mix of historical fiction, fantasy, and mythology. Cobweb Bride follows several characters as they try to navigate a world where all death has stopped. Death himself is refusing to take anymore of the worlds souls until he finds his Cobweb Bride, meaning all of the sick and injured must suffer until he gets what he wants.This book fell into my lap at the perfect time because I’ve been wanting to read more books with Death as an actual character and it doesn’t get much more real than death completely stopping by his hand. The story itself had such an interesting premise and it kept me engaged. The writing was beautiful, flowed extremely well, and was easy to read. In fact, I flew through this book very quickly.All of the characters this book follows have their own quirks and motivations and such and it was interesting to read about them as they try to cope with this new reality, especially when they have no idea how long it will last. Persephone though, is one of the more interesting characters because while she is introduced as a very plain, unnoticeable sort of person, she’s actually quite formidable and important to the story and I honestly can’t wait to see where the future books take her.All in all, Cobweb Bride was a fun, interesting, quick read and I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.
    • 5/5
      Part fantasy, part fairytale, this story looks at what happens when Death goes on strike, and takes a cast of characters including a princess, a down-trodden tomboy peasant girl, and a battle-crazed knight on a beautiful, eliptical, off-kilter journey, running at a cross-current from the tropes you might be expecting.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. In this story Death holds the people of the world to ransom for his "cobweb bride". Set in a time of knights and ladies, young women must volunteer to go into the dark northern forests and find Death's Keep. Until his bride is presented to him, Death will not take another life, thus those who would otherwise have passed away are held in an undead macabre state. Our heroine Persephone is the unappreciated middle daughter of a poor peasant family. She proves herself capable of much in harsh conditions. The world that the author created for this book is both enchanting and terrifying. I impatiently await the continuation of the tale in the next volume!
    • 5/5
      One day, Death stops. He will not resume his tasks until his Cobweb Bride is found and brought to him. The dying linger, their last breaths forever gurgling in their throat, the murdered seek to understand their murderers, and the only nourishment is that which was harvested before Death withdrew.

      From all across the lands they come. Potential Cobweb Brides, asked by their rulers to save the world. Some are ordered; some volunteer. Some hope to be chosen; some pray to be spared. But all head north to the forest in search of Death's home. And some in the kingdom, pleased with their reprieve from Death, desire to stop them.

      This book is beautiful and sorrowful, hopeful and tragic. The writing is poetic; I found myself reading some parts out loud just to hear them spoken. From the moment I picked this book up until the moment I finished it, I was immersed.


      5/5 stars

      Note: I participated in the Kickstarter for this book.

    Book preview

    Cobweb Bride - Vera Nazarian

    ... Nazarian writes clean and true prose ...

    —Publishers Weekly

    COBWEB BRIDE

    (Cobweb Bride Trilogy: Book One)

    Vera Nazarian

    Published by Norilana Books at Smashwords

    Copyright © 2013 by Vera Nazarian

    Cover Design Copyright © 2017 by James, GoOnWrite.com

    Interior Illustration:

    Map of the Realm and the Domain, Copyright © 2013 by Vera Nazarian.

    Ebook Edition

    July 15, 2013

    Rev. 12.15.2017

    Discover other titles by Vera Nazarian at

    http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Norilana

    Epub Format ISBN:

    ISBN-13: 978-1-60762-114-0

    ISBN-10: 1-60762-114-2

    This book is a work of fiction. All characters, names, locations, and events portrayed in this book are fictional or used in an imaginary manner to entertain, and any resemblance to any real people, situations, or incidents is purely coincidental.

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

    Smashwords Edition License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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    Table of Contents

    Map of the Realm and the Domain

    Dedication

    Chapter 1

    Chapter 2

    Chapter 3

    Chapter 4

    Chapter 5

    Chapter 6

    Chapter 7

    Chapter 8

    Chapter 9

    Chapter 10

    Chapter 11

    Chapter 12

    Chapter 13

    Chapter 14

    Author’s Note: Imaginary History and Geography

    List of Characters

    Other Books by Vera Nazarian

    About the Author

    Acknowledgements

    Map of the Realm and the Domain

    Dedication

    For all those who have gone before . . .

    In the absence of Death,

    In the presence of Death,

    Only one thing remains,

    It is Love.

    COBWEB BRIDE

    Cobweb Bride Trilogy

    Book One

    Vera Nazarian

    Chapter 1

    He came to them in the heart of winter, asking for his Cobweb Bride.

    He arrived everywhere, all at once. In one singular moment, he was seen, heard, felt, remembered. Some inhaled his decaying scent. Others bitterly tasted him.

    And everyone recognized Death in one way or another, just before the world was suspended.

    But Death’s human story began in Lethe, one of the three kingdoms of the Imperial Realm.

    It was evening, and the city of Letheburg reposed in amber lantern lights and thickening blue shadows. At some point there had been a silence, a break in the howling of the wind, as the snow started to fall.

    The silence preceded him.

    Flakes of white glimmered through the frost-blurred glass of the myriad windows of the Winter Palace of Lethe. In moments the snowflakes turned into armies. They piled and compounded, stretched and distended into geometric symmetry. Folding into garlands of impossible gauze veils, they appeared at last to be the faint and vaporous spinnings of a sky-sized ice spider casting its web upon the world.

    While the pallor and the darkness grew outside, Death was arriving within—inside a bedchamber permeated with illness, the boudoir of the old Queen.

    In silence he formed out of the cobwebs of the gilded crown molding near the ceiling, the dust motes of desolation, and the fallen shadows in the corner. All these tiny bits and pieces of the mortal world rushed together to shape him.

    He began as grey smoke. Then, darkness deeper than soot. His form solidified into a man, gaunt and tall, clad in black velvet like a grim Spaniard. He wore no cape, but somehow his face was hooded, as though a veil rippled between him and anyone who might look.

    The first to notice him was the woman sitting in a chair at the foot of the great bed, farthest away from the fireplace—a regal middle-aged woman in a heavy brocade dress of deep green. She saw him and gasped, forgetting her stoic demeanor.

    At the woman’s reaction, the distinguished man with silver at his temples, standing next to her—leaning as he had been, for hours it seemed, over the bed and its decrepit occupant—turned to look. And he was taken with paralysis, able only to stare.

    Finally, the fading old creature who lay in the bed—ethereal as a desiccated fairy, sunken in layers of soft winter mahogany fleece and cream silk—turned her clouded gaze in the direction of the presence.

    Who are you? the seated woman in the green brocade asked at the same time as the man leaning over the bed exclaimed, Guards!

    But the old woman lying in bed merely rattled the air in her throat and lifted a gnarled trembling finger, pointing.

    There was profound relief in that gesture, a final offering of the self.

    But the one who stood before her—before them all—did not respond. Moments gathered around him like the fluttering yet unfailing pulse-beat in the old woman’s throat.

    And then, at long last, he spoke.

    No.

    With a clanging of metal, guards came running into the chamber. But they too seemed to lose urgency, and lined up at the doors watching with transfixed faces.

    No, he repeated, in a voice as distant as the falling snow outside the window. I may not have you. . . . Instead, I must have my Cobweb Bride.

    Who are you? the woman in green tried again. Underneath her formally coiffed hair, the color of dark tea, bright drops of faceted yellow topaz sparkled in her earlobes, reflecting the flames. Tiny pearls sat in the intricacy of her collar lace. But her voice was dull, without inflection, for she knew very well who it was.

    Death stands before you, he replied with a softness of the final breath.

    Have you come to take from us Her Majesty, my Mother and our Queen? whispered the man who had summoned the guards. He wore expensive velvet garments of deep mourning and had a stern face framed by dark hair with its beginnings of grizzle, undisguised by a powdered wig. There was no need for ceremonial formalities in this bedchamber—at least not today.

    No, Prince, Death replied. I have come for my Cobweb Bride and none other. No one else will I take unto me until I have her at my side.

    What does that mean? said Roland Osenni—he who was indeed a Prince of Lethe, and who would have been King in the next three breaths had they been the old Queen’s last.

    A Cobweb Bride? echoed Lucia Osenni, the woman in the chair, who was the Prince’s wife and consort, and would have been the new Queen. Who is this Cobweb Bride, and where might she be found, to be delivered unto you?

    Meanwhile, the old Queen, Andrelise Osenni of Lethe, let her hand drop on the coverlet. Skeletal fingers twitching, she lay gurgling, drowning in her own spittle, the death rattle in her throat an unrelenting rhythmic sound.

    Oh God, have mercy! Princess Lucia stood up in reflex at the awful new sound, and came forward to stare at the dying Queen, wringing her own hands clad with heavy gold rings. She clenched her fingers so hard that the metal and jewels cut into her flesh. Pain shot through her, clean and sharp. Pain, cleansing the mind.

    But there was to be no clarity and no death that night.

    Bring to me my Cobweb Bride. Bring her to the gates of Death’s Keep that stands in the Northern Forest. Only then will I grant relief and resume taking your kind unto me. Until then, none shall die.

    And as the voice faded into echoes of cold stone, so did the form of shadows and black soot, until only mortals were left in the room.

    Did they imagine it? Had it been a flicker of the mind, a waking dream?

    The crackling flame in the fireplace cast a golden-red glow upon them all.

    And the old Queen’s death rattle continued.

    Death’s second stop was simultaneous, yet many leagues away, to the north.

    Evening twilight encroached with blue and indigo upon the whiteness of the frozen Lake Merlait. It was a scene of slowing battle between the forces of Duke Ian Chidair, known as Hoarfrost, and the armies of his neighbor, the Duke Vitalio Goraque. Neither side as yet had the upper hand.

    Winter wind howled in fury while heavy cavalrymen and horses struggled in a slow melee, immense metal-clad knights bringing broadswords and maces down upon each other, to cleave and bludgeon. Joined with the screaming wind in a discord were the clangor of iron and shouts and groans of agony as the wounded and the slain soldiers piled upon the whiteness. Footmen slipped and moved between the feet of the great warhorses, and long pikes pierced chain mail and mail plate, butting up against the ice.

    There were places where the ice had cracked. Here, men and beasts had fallen through into the gaping blackness, the sludge water thick and slow underneath the ice. The dead and the living had intermingled, and common blood stained the top layer of the ice with dark red; pale rose in places, deep as burgundy in others.

    Then, all of a sudden, the wind died.

    Except for the ringing metal and human cries, there had come silence.

    With it came horror.

    One beheaded soldier continued to move. His severed head together with its helmet, eyes still blinking, mouth distended into a cry, rolled into the gaping hole in the ice, sinking into the breach. But the headless torso, now blind and staggering, continued to wield the sword, and to swing it wildly.

    Behind him, another soldier, wearing red and gold, Duke Vitalio Goraque’s colors, was pierced through the heart with a long pike. Instead of collapsing, he froze in place for several long shuddering moments. Then, as the one who struck him down stared in disbelief, the soldier took hold of the shaft and pulled it out of his own chest, shouting in agony. And he continued to fight, while blood darker than his tunic poured out of his wound in a spurting fountain.

    A few feet away, a knight in an over-tunic surcoat of palest frost-blue—its color blurring into the surrounding ice in the intensifying twilight—decorated with the ornate crest of Duke Hoarfrost, fell from his warhorse from the impact of a great broadsword blow. He fell upon the ice and through it, for the burden of his plate armor weighted him down as though he were an anvil.

    The knight sank, screaming, while the sludge blackwater closed over his head, seeping into his under-tunic and all the crevices with a shock of excruciating cold. And he continued screaming silently with all the force of his lungs that collapsed and then filled with the ice water while he was being consumed by universal agony of cold fire and impossible stifling pressure. All his muscles spasmed, and yet his heart did not shut down instantly from the shock.

    His heart went on beating, slow and stately like an ice drum, then slowing down gradually, as though unwinding mechanical gears. While his blood—now as cold as the water in the lake—crawled through him sluggishly. And still the knight descended, flailing his limbs in the absolute darkness and cold while his mind chanted a prayer to God for an end that would not come.

    Eventually he hit the bottom of the lake, thick with mud. He lay there, unable to move from the weight of his armor and from the constricted and frozen muscles of his body; unable to breathe and suffocating without end, yet not losing consciousness. His face, now invisible to any other living being, was clenched in a rictus of horror, and prayers were replaced with madness.

    Directly above him—no more than fifty feet through the freezing waters, upon the ice crust surrounding the breach through which he had fallen—the battle went on. But it had taken a turn of unreality.

    Men on both sides continued to strike mortal blows, but their opponents faltered only briefly. Many of the slain picked themselves back up from the ice and continued fighting, even though they were soon drained of all blood. Others stood or lay howling in unrelieved pain from deadly wounds and mutilations, neither losing consciousness nor life.

    Sorcery! By God, this is dark witching sorcery! Fall back! Fall back! Duke Vitalio Goraque cried, thrown into sudden mindless terror by the realization of what was happening around him. It did not matter that he was surrounded by a solid circle of his best knights and henchmen, while behind him rode the loyal pennant bearer, holding aloft the red-and-gold banner with the Goraque crest. It did not matter that they had advanced such a significant distance across the frozen lake, and were more than halfway to the western shore that marked the outer boundary of the lands held by his enemy, Hoarfrost.

    None of it mattered. The red Duke attempted to fight his way back from the middle of the frozen lake to the eastern shore where his reserve detachments waited.

    On the other end of the lake, a mere ten or twenty feet from the western shore, flew the pennant of the palest blue, now obscured by evening murk, with the crest of Chidair. Duke Hoarfrost himself, Ian Chidair, sat on his tall grey charger like a rock, while continuing to swing his broadsword at the enemy knights.

    Next to him fought his son, Lord Beltain Chidair, protecting his father’s formidable back. He moved, deep in a berserker fury, demonic and terrifying. No matter how tired he had to be at this point, few dared to approach the young knight who had never been defeated in combat.

    The few remaining Chidair knights at their side were dull with exhaustion. None had yet noticed the peculiar consequences of what should have been mortal strikes, attributing it to the enemy’s tenacity—after all, Chidair had been pushed back into retreating to their own shores of the lake. And the cessation of the ice wind against their numb faces was merely perceived as a blessed minor relief.

    But then they saw in the distance near the heart of the lake that Duke Goraque’s forces seemed to be regrouping and then retreating east.

    It made no sense. Why was Goraque retreating? He had the upper hand!

    Though evenly matched in general, the battle had been hardest upon Duke Hoarfrost’s army, especially in these last minutes. The only explanation for the uncalled-for retreat of Duke Goraque’s men was that they must have been deceived by something in the growing dusk. Or maybe they were unwilling to continue the battle at night.

    Accursed cowards! Duke Hoarfrost exclaimed, panting hard. With a great backhanded blow he delivered a killing strike to the neck of the last Goraque knight within sword range before him—a strike that should have severed collarbone and ribs and cleared the immediate area of any remaining opponents.

    The knight did not fall but slumped forward in the saddle to lie against the neck of his warhorse from the impact of the received blow. Blood spurted down the front of his already ruddy surcoat as his heart pumped the life-liquid out of the damaged body. Within moments he will have drawn his last breath.

    Himself near collapse, breathing in shuddering gasps of exhaustion, Duke Hoarfrost turned his back to the defeated enemy and addressed the pennant bearer of his House.

    Laurent . . . he spoke between breaths. Raise the banner to its fullest. . . . We will now rally to strike them and drive them—

    He never finished. Because in that moment a long dagger was lodged and twisted with surprising force in his lower back near the kidneys, deep to the hilt, in that vulnerable spot right between the mail plates. And a moment later a broadsword point struck him higher, between the ribs, running in through the heart and out the front of his chest cavity. The point of the sword was stopped only by the hard inner surface of the chest plate.

    Then the blade was withdrawn.

    Searing agony.

    An instant of vertigo, that should have been followed by instant oblivion.

    But Duke Hoarfrost, Ian Chidair, mortally pierced twice, remained alive. And alive, he screamed in impossible pain.

    He screamed, while blood came spurting out of him, from his back and his chest, from the hole near his kidneys, and past the clenched jaws and into his mouth so that he tasted his own serum and bile, choked on it, while his lungs were filling rapidly so that he was now drowning.

    And yet, slowly Duke Hoarfrost turned around. Staggering in the saddle, he faced the slain knight who once again sat upright in his own saddle, and who held a broadsword covered with Hoarfrost’s blood. The dagger remained lodged in Chidair’s back.

    No! Beltain, his son, cried. "No! Father! Oh, in the Name of God, no!"

    Duke Hoarfrost gurgled, unable to breathe. And then, with a supreme effort he threw himself at the enemy knight.

    The two of them went down from the impact. Neither one cared any longer that to be unseated meant they would likely be unable to rise up and mount again—that it meant sure death.

    What difference would it make when they were dead already?

    Or, undead.

    For neither of them could possibly be alive.

    The impact of two bodies collapsing against the ice resulted in a slow fissure, then a growing crack. Their warhorses stumbled, yet managed to regain footing and scrambled away to a safe distance, while all around, the Chidair knights backed away, leaving a perimeter around the collapsing ice.

    Down the incline and into the churning sludge the two fallen men slipped, weighed down by the immense poundage of their armor, still grappling with each other as the thick waters closed overhead, bubbling.

    Within moments there was only stillness. The ice pieces gently bobbed on top of the sludge.

    Holy Mother of God . . . have mercy upon your loyal servant Ian Chidair and receive him unto your bosom, Beltain whispered, crossing himself. He removed his helmet in grief and in final honor of his fallen Lord father. In the dark, his eyes were without an end, places leading only into hell; his hair, like filaments of the night.

    Some distance away there were various sounds of retreat. Goraque soldiers returned to their own side of the lake, while straggling figures of Hoarfrost’s men started to fall back to the place where the Duke himself had just sunk in the waters so near the shore.

    In the darkness it was not clearly visible that some of these men should not have been walking upright. Indeed, many did not realize their own condition, feeling only numbness and winter closing in, and attributing it to the circumstances of battle. From the shores came the reserve troops, soldiers carrying torches to illuminate the scene of battle, for at last it was true night.

    Soldiers of Chidair! All of you now my men—good, brave men, Beltain continued, his face illuminated with the angry red flickering of torches. I promise to you, his death will not go unavenged. I now count on your loyalty to—

    But his words tapered off into silence. Because in that moment the ice at the shore of the lake began to shudder, and then was shattered violently from the inside . . . out.

    It was broken by the blow of a metal-clad fist emerging from the lake itself.

    The fist was followed by an arm, and then another. The two hands tore and pounded at the ice, until it cracked and shattered, and the hole widened, became the girth of a man’s body, then wider yet. At last a human shape burst forth, sputtering and gasping, then throwing up water mixed with blood upon the shore.

    He stood up, the waters coming up to his waist. Then, bracing himself with his arms he crawled out and lay upon the surface at the edge of the hole, clad in mail and a soaked darkened surcoat that should have been faint blue, the color of frost.

    He had lost his crested helmet underneath the ice of the lake. But the hair plastered to the skull with ice water was unmistakably that of the Duke Hoarfrost, Ian Chidair, Lord of the west lands of Chidair within the Kingdom of Lethe.

    He lay twitching upon the ice, while lake water and the last vestiges of his own blood came pouring out of the fissures in his body. And then he slowly raised his head.

    Illuminated by the torches of his own soldiers, a pale bloodless face of the man they knew and served looked at them impassively.

    He was like a god of Winter, white with a bluish tint. The water was freezing into true ice upon the planes of his face, rimming his brows and hair with dead crystalline whiteness.

    Duke Hoarfrost stood up, while many, including his own son, reined in their mounts to move away, and foot soldiers took an involuntary step back and unto the shore, away from the ice.

    Father? Beltain Chidair whispered, his voice cracking. "Are you my father? Are you . . . dead?"

    And the man before him parted his frozen lips, and then spewed forth more brackish water and the last taint of living blood. He then moved one awkward hand behind him to pull out the dagger from his back.

    My . . . son, he croaked. I . . . don’t know.

    Death’s third stop was intimate, and once again no time had elapsed.

    In a poor house with a badly thatched roof, no attic and a drafty ceiling of old wooden rafters—one of the most decrepit dwellings in the village of Oarclaven, in the Dukedom of Goraque, which in turn lay within the Kingdom of Lethe—an old peasant woman lay dying.

    She was Bethesia Ayren, possibly older than the elm tree growing in the back yard. She was a widow, the mother of two sons one of whom owned this house, and the grandmother of one grandson and three granddaughters. It was a rather small family, as peasant families went.

    Bethesia had been beautiful in her day, with cream skin and bright auburn hair that was long and soft as goose down, and shimmered as apricot silk in sunlight. She wore it loose once or twice when a maiden, and it had caught the eye of a passing lordling’s handsome son. As a result, Bethesia was made to braid her hair tightly, cover her head with discreet cotton, and was married soon after to Johuan Ayren, a solid young man of a respectable village family.

    Very quickly after that she gave birth to a handsome boy. Bethesia’s husband was a kind and fair man, and he took the boy and treated him as his own. Eventually a second son was born, and this one resembled the father in his plainness and kindness.

    By the time Bethesia and Johuan grew old but not quite decrepit, the older son, handsome Guel, had prospered and married an apple orchard owner’s daughter who bore him a healthy son, and the three of them had gone to live in the large town Fioren, just south of Letheburg. It was the second son, Alann, who had remained with Bethesia and his father, to care for his aging parents. Johuan died shortly after, and there was no one but Bethesia and Alann to tend to the crumbling house and the small plot of land with the field and the vegetable garden.

    Alann took a wife then, and she resembled his mother in many ways. Niobea was a beautiful woman from Fioren who had the mixed fortune to work as a lady’s fine seamstress. She married poor Alann Ayren because no one else would have her after she too had caught the roving eye of her lady’s son and could not avoid his even more roving hands.

    In the lady’s household Niobea had been taught how to read in order to entertain the mistress at her sewing, and thus acquired a fine taste. Niobea gave long and elegant names to her peasant daughters as they were born almost one right after the other, with not a son in sight.

    The eldest daughter, whose father may or may not have been Alann, was called Parabelle. She was fair like a field of flax, and delicate like imported porcelain in the fancy town shops. Her hair was rich and bountiful, a sea of dawning pallor with a hint of amber and gold—several shades lighter than her grandmother’s had been, but of the same glorious texture, falling like a cloak around her when unbound. Her body was slim and well proportioned, and as she approached womanhood she stood nearly as tall as her father. Even when she worked in the field at Alann’s side, the sun was kind to her. It ripened her apple-golden, and her skin did not lose its fresh elasticity, or its delicate sheen. Belle was beautiful indeed, and they came to call her thus. Additionally she was obedient, humble, intelligent and soft-spoken—a perfect daughter and granddaughter, loved dearly by all.

    The second daughter came two springs and a half later, plain and dull, and was given the name Persephone. It was as though all beauty, all the life juices have been wrung out of Niobea in the birthing of Parabelle, so that none of it was left over to imbue Persephone with energy.

    Percy was a sickly child, somewhat dull-witted and slow, likely to stop her work and stare at shadows, at nothings. She was darker, her hair of an indeterminate color somewhere between brown, black, and ash. Her skin and face were anemic pale—not frail in a lovely way, but unhealthy. She burned readily in the sun, unlike her older sister, and soon enough would be peeling and covered with red welts. Eventually they made her wear an additional cotton scarf in the field, to cover most of her face and her neck, not to mention shirts with extra-thick long sleeves.

    Percy was also stocky, with a straight waist that would never be willowy, leaning to fat, and clumsy like a dog let loose in the house. She broke crockery every other day it seemed, so that her mother Niobea sometimes cried just looking at her, for she knew that to get her a husband might be an impossible task. Worst of all, Percy was a willful child, and would ignore tasks she had no heart for. Good for nothing, Niobea called her, a clod, a stubborn idiot girl. And Niobea prayed for a more graceful child next time.

    Indeed, because nature always seeks a balance, beauty returned to the family. The third daughter came three summers later during the autumn harvest, and she was an angelic child who promised to be as beautiful as the eldest. Niobea spoke a prayer of thanks and named her Patriciana.

    Patty was not as exquisitely beautiful as Belle, but she made up for it in vivacity and energy. A child with ruddy cheeks and curly chestnut locks, before she was old enough to work she ran around the house singing and wailing and laughing. And she tormented old Bethesia with stories and questions, until Belle would gently scold her while her mother would hide a smile and give her an apple and tell her to run and play outside.

    Often, as little Patty came outside after the mild scolding, Percy would be working in the vegetable patch, and she would wave and beckon. And as soon as Patty settled down next to her ungainly dirt-covered older sister, Percy would resume pulling the carrots and pruning the spinach leaves, appearing so intent on her task. But eventually, without fail, Percy would launch on a strange tale, usually filled with frightful creatures and mysterious happenings, all of it told in an oddly compelling voice, and using root vegetables like puppets, for colorful props.

    They grew together thus, until Belle was eighteen, Percy sixteen, and Patty an energetic thirteen year old.

    It was then that their grandmother’s time drew to a close, and Bethesia lay dying.

    Evenings came early in winter, and ailing Bethesia was laid out in a corner bed, as far away from the drafts as possible, and wrapped in several old woolen blankets. The fireplace had been lit early, a mixture of dry and sodden logs and twigs crackling and sputtering angrily with smoke, as the wind outside howled and gusts of it came tearing down the filthy chimney. The windows were shuttered tight but it was not enough to keep out the winter cold, so Belle—now a willowy maiden, beautiful despite the grey homespun dress and work-calloused fingers—went around the house and stuffed additional bunches of folded rags in all the crevices and along the windowsills.

    Why is it so dark, child? suddenly came from the bed in the corner, as Bethesia spoke in a faint rasping voice. And why is it so quiet?

    Belle stopped her task and came quickly to her grandmother’s side.

    Lying against the lumpy pillow covered with faded cotton that was worn thin from endless washings, Bethesia’s wrinkled face had turned white-grey. Eyes the color of coals reposed deep in sockets of bone and skin, and her withered hands had been bent into gnarled claws by arthritis. Belle held them now, feeling the cold fingers. They were like branches of the old snow-covered elm outside.

    It is dark because a storm is rising, Belle said gently in a melodic voice. I’ve lined the shutters tight and lit the fireplace.

    Gran, can you not see the fire? a younger voice sounded, as Patty came forward from her place at the wooden table where she was mixing buckwheat flour batter and peeling stale turnips for their evening meal. Patty’s bright eyes and cheeks were warmed by the light of the flames, and her nose had a smear of dirt from the tubers she’d been cleaning.

    Their mother, Niobea, a gaunt, middle-aged woman, sat in another chair in the corner, holding a long piece of homespun that she was quilting with precise deft movements of a seasoned seamstress. Might as well light us a candle, Patty, she said. "It is too dark."

    Niobea’s greying hair was concealed by a simple woolen scarf, where it would once have been decorated with a lace bonnet. There was no more lace to be had, and the last of it, left from her younger days, yellowing and tattered, was stored in an old

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